Transferee Eligibility Requirements & Application Process

Whilst we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds, there are some eligibility conditions that all applicants need to meet. Please check the below to ensure you meet our re-joiner and transferee officer eligibility requirements before you start your application.

Check your eligibility

You must declare any other employment or business interests you intend to maintain. The purpose of this is to ensure business interests and additional occupations do not conflict with the work of the police, undermine public confidence or adversely affect the reputation of the police officer or Northumbria Police.

You will need to look smart and clean at all times when representing the Force on any duty. Providing it is suitable for the purpose, religious or cultural clothing can be worn.

Headwear – If you wear a turban or an Imama Shareef with the force badge on it. Anyone wearing a hijab or skullcap must wear their headwear over it when on foot patrol.

Facial hair – operational officers should not have a long beard, because of health and safety risks, although we can make exceptions for religious reasons.

Jewellery – Religious requirements to wear jewellery are judged on their own merit. They are only allowed if not a significant health and safety risk and unobtrusive.

You must meet a national police eyesight standard. You are permitted to wear contact lenses or spectacles to meet the standard.

If you have a discharged County Court Judgement you may be considered. However we will not accept you if you have an existing County Court Judgement outstanding against you.

If you have been registered as bankrupt and your bankruptcy debts have been discharged, you will be considered after three years from discharge of the debt. However, we will not accept you if you have been registered bankrupt and your bankruptcy debts have not been discharged.

If you are the subject of a current Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA), you will not be considered.

You will be required to pass our medical checks and fitness test – to prove you’re ready for the physical demands of the job. Northumbria Police will have regard to the Home Office Medical Standards and a detailed guidance document more commonly known as Annex A and B as approved by the national representative organisations of police force medical advisors when assessing candidates for the role of Police Officer.

The fitness test allows an assessment to be made of your endurance to ensure you are able to meet the demands of operational policing.

The test focuses upon aerobic capacity. You will carry out a shuttle run over a 15 metre area and run in time with a bleep. At the end of each level the time in between the bleeps is shortened and you therefore have to run faster to keep up with the pace. The recruit pass mark is level 5.4. This involves running for approximately 3 minutes 40 seconds. If you do not think you can achieve this level, you should ensure you start improving your fitness levels as soon as you can (please check with your doctor before making any big changes to your fitness regime).

All medical criteria will be checked – including eyesight and Body Mass Index (BMI must be at least 18 and no more than 30). If you do not meet this BMI, you may find your application delayed and / or you will not be appointed.

Click here for a BMI calculator

The fitness test allows an assessment to be made of your endurance to ensure you are able to meet the demands of operational policing.

The test focuses upon aerobic capacity.  The purpose of the fitness test is to ensure you have a basic level of fitness for entry into the police service.  You will carry out a shuttle run over a 15 metre area and run in time with a bleep.  At the end of each level the time in between the bleeps is shortened and you therefore have to run faster to keep up with the pace.   The recruit pass mark is level 5.4. This involves running for approximately 3 minutes 40 seconds. If you do not think you can achieve this level, you should ensure you start improving your fitness levels as soon as you can (please check with your doctor before making any big changes to your fitness regime).

Officers in some specialist posts and those who are required to undertake Officer Safety Training as part of their role are required to complete a fitness test throughout their employment to ensure they are able to meet the demands of operational policing.

You must not have any outstanding integrity matters.

Transferees must be in a substantive police officer position, having completed your probationary period.

In order to re-join as a police officer, you must have completed your two years’ probationary period and be a confirmed officer.

Your absence history will be verified as part of the recruitment process and you will be asked to provide referees to verify your absence history for the past 12 months. We ask you for further information regarding any absence or pattern of absences that fall within the below criteria. (Any absence may be discounted for pregnancy or disability related reasons)

  • You have been absent from work through one period of absence for 28 or more days, or
  • You have been absent from work through sickness on three or more separate occasions, or
  • Your sickness record during this period displays a pattern of absence which would cause doubts about your reliability.

You will not be tested for substance misuse upon transferring. You may be subject to substance misuse testing at any stage during your employment if you are successful.

Tattoos and facial piercings become relevant if they could reasonably cause offence to members of the public or colleagues. Tattoos are not necessarily a bar to appointment. However, some tattoos could potentially offend members of the public or colleagues, or could bring discredit to the police service. Tattoos (visible or otherwise) are not acceptable if they:

  • undermine the dignity and authority of the office of constable;
  • cause offence to members of the public or colleagues and/or invite provocation;
  • indicate unacceptable attitudes towards any individual or section of the community;
  • indicate alignment with a particular group which could give offence to members of the public or colleagues; and
  • be considered inflammatory, rude, lewd, crude, racist, sexist, sectarian, homophobic, violent or intimidating.

If your tattoo is determined as not acceptable, your application will not be progressed.

Applying to be a transferee Police Officer – the process:

1. Eligibility and Conditions

Ensure you have checked vetting, medical and other eligibility criteria before applying to transfer.

2. Application Form

The application form consists of personal details, your current policing qualifications and three 500 word sections regarding your skills and motivation. You do not need to inform your force at this stage if you are not comfortable doing so.

3. Interview

It is a two person panel interview based on competency, motivation and scenario questions. This is where we delve into the current topic areas that are important to Northumbria Police and find out about you in more detail.

4. Record Check

We will request your OHU and PSD records from your current/previous forces. Anything you can do to speed up the return of these would be appreciated.

5. Conditional Offer

You will be issued a conditional offer if you are successful. This will include all the required paperwork to start your pre-employment checks.

6. Pre-Employment Checks

These checks include a fitness test, references, a medical examination, vetting checks, biometric and fingerprint analysis and we will also organise your uniform fitting.

7. Final Offer

Once you have successfully passed all of your pre-employment checks you will be issued a final offer containing a start date with at least 28 days’ notice.

Congratulations! Welcome to TeamNP.

Congratulations, you’ve successfully completed the application process and are now a member of our TeamNP policing family. Your journey on your new career starts here.

Are you eligible? Apply to join #teamnp today

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Not eligible? Check out our other entry routes

Find out more

Are you eligible? Apply today

Find out more

Not eligible? Check out our other entry routes

Find out more